I first saw this wheel at a local goodwill, it caught my eye among the mountains of other crappy wheels I normally see at goodwill because one, it was complete in box, and two, Dreamcast wheels dont show up every day! The first time I saw it a couple weeks ago I passed on it, but then today there is was, still unclaimed and thought I could give it a good home. It cost me $25 (kind of steep for goodwill) but the condition and complete box sold me.
First off, the build quality. This wheel feels just like any other "cheap" wheel, meaning anything that isnt made for hard core sim racers. It actually feels very comparable to the Microsoft wheel I just reviewed. The wheel its self is ribber all around, with all the buttons easily accessible. The shift paddles are actual metal on this, which was a pleasant surprise. It features an interesting button layout, with both sides sporting a "+\-" pair of buttons. There is no force feedback, but it does feature vibration (and thus requires a separate power supply). The wheel has almost 180 degrees of range in each direction, but I would have liked to have a bit more tension when turning.
The pedals are very basic black plastic, but feel like they would hold up to some abuse. They both have a nice range, and the brake has considerably more resistance than the gas, but still a bit weak (but MUCH better than the 360 wheel).
I played it attached to my Playseats Evolution racing chair, the wheel attached with the supplied clamps, but they are a very odd style and didnt seem to get a good hold, but nonetheless, they held it in place. I attached the pedals with a bit of velcro that came with my seat, and it held them pretty well too.
(see edit below about wheel sensitivity!!)
I tried it out with 4 games I had on my shelf to get a good mix of how it would perform. First I popped in Sega Rally 2. This game is very heavy on drifting and I found myself over correcting non stop. Even though the wheel has good range, it is still very sensitive, resulting in very twitchy steering. In this game you pretty much dont let off the gas and slide every corner, and after some adjustment it was like playing in an arcade. The vibration was a very welcome feature, giving some life to the wheel.
I next tried Test Drive Le mans, and the twitchy-ness of the wheel was very apparent. It was hard to judge corners without the force feedback, and just a slight turn of the wheel caused a but of oversteer.
Up next was 4x4 evolution, this game I am sure is better suited for a controller, as it is overly arcade like, and benefits nothing from a wheel set up. The vibration also didnt seem to work in this game, and made the whole experience feel kind of dead.
Last was Ferrari F355 Challenge, I figured this wheel would really get to shine with this game. Once again that sensitive wheel was killing me at first, but you just have to adjust I guess. The vibration was very well used in this game, helping you forget about the lack of force feedback. Overall was a very enjoyable experience.
EDIT!!
I made this edit earlier, but looks like i forgot to save it, anyway... I found out that the wheel has different levels of sensitivity, and default it is the highest. I set it to the lowest and what a difference! The cars are not twitchy at all and it is a much more smooth experience. F355 is a blast now, and Sega Rally feels like im in the arcade! I also found out that the "+/-" buttons are mappable to any of the face buttons. Guess I should read the manual next time.
This wheel is definitely suited for arcade style racers (which the DC has quite a few of) and would not disappoint in that respect. Dont expect this to compare to hardcore sim wheels of today (like my G25) but take it for what it is and you will be having a blast sliding corners all day long in Sega Rally.
Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read this review, I hope this and my previous one were not too long. Once I get going I feel that I need to be as informative as i can. I would love to hear some feedback as well as what you thought of the review!
I really appreciate that you tested the wheel on such versatile racing titles on the DC. I remember being given this particular wheel but giving it to a friend (I already own the official Sega Agetec Rally Wheel).
